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This week on Social Brand Chat presented by KXIC we discussed a question from Beth O’Shaughnessy via LinkedIn, who asked, “How can you reach the 55+ demographic on social media?” Another great (and common) question that many marketers have as they work to segment their messaging. Let’s chat about this. 

At the risk of making sweeping generalizations, Facebook is always a good place to start. In addition to being the largest social network, the fastest growing segment there is actually the 55+ demographic. From here, it really depends on who you are targeting and with what kind of product or service. It’s also worth noting that the 55+ demographic is not as homogeneous as it once was. Many are still in powerful leadership positions in the workforce, which might make a LinkedIn a good fit for B2B offerings. Pinterest also works well for fashion, lifestyle, design-focused brands that might be targeting an audience that skews heavily toward females.

At the end of the day, it depends. That could sound like consultant-speak (look at what I do for a living!) but it’s true. The power of digital media is that you have a better chance of getting the right message in front of the right customers but you have to do your homework. Who are you trying to reach and what makes the most sense to them?  

For this week’s social media news we talked about how Taco Bell is closing down their infamously effective social media accounts … for a few days while they promote their new app. This was certainly an attention-getting campaign! Read more on Adweek.

Do you have a question about social media you’d like answered? Ask in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter using #SocialBrandChat. Check out previous episodes of the Social Brand Chat podcast here.

Remember to subscribe to the show on iTunes — and don’t be shy about giving us a rating and review to help others find us. You can also listen to the show via Stitcher Radio. Until next week, see you on the Internet!